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Halu A, De Domenico M, Arenas A, Sharma A. The multiplex network of human diseases. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2019; 5:15. [PMID: 31044086 PMCID: PMC6478736 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-019-0092-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Untangling the complex interplay between phenotype and genotype is crucial to the effective characterization and subtyping of diseases. Here we build and analyze the multiplex network of 779 human diseases, which consists of a genotype-based layer and a phenotype-based layer. We show that diseases with common genetic constituents tend to share symptoms, and uncover how phenotype information helps boost genotype information. Moreover, we offer a flexible classification of diseases that considers their molecular underpinnings alongside their clinical manifestations. We detect cohesive groups of diseases that have high intra-group similarity at both the molecular and the phenotypic level. Inspecting these disease communities, we demonstrate the underlying pathways that connect diseases mechanistically. We observe monogenic disorders grouped together with complex diseases for which they increase the risk factor. We propose potentially new disease associations that arise as a unique feature of the information flow within and across the two layers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arda Halu
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Manlio De Domenico
- Departament d’Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Alex Arenas
- Departament d’Enginyeria Informàtica i Matemàtiques, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Amitabh Sharma
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 USA
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Berlin R, Gruen R, Best J. Systems Medicine Disease: Disease Classification and Scalability Beyond Networks and Boundary Conditions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2018; 6:112. [PMID: 30131956 PMCID: PMC6090066 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2018.00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to accommodate the forthcoming wealth of health and disease related information, from genome to body sensors to population and the environment, the approach to disease description and definition demands re-examination. Traditional classification methods remain trapped by history; to provide the descriptive features that are required for a comprehensive description of disease, systems science, which realizes dynamic processes, adaptive response, and asynchronous communication channels, must be applied (Wolkenhauer et al., 2013). When Disease is viewed beyond the thresholds of lines and threshold boundaries, disease definition is not only the result of reductionist, mechanistic categories which reluctantly face re-composition. Disease is process and synergy as the characteristics of Systems Biology and Systems Medicine are included. To capture the wealth of information and contribute meaningfully to medical practice and biology research, Disease classification goes beyond a single spatial biologic level or static time assignment to include the interface of Disease process and organism response (Bechtel, 2017a; Green et al., 2017).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Berlin
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Russell Gruen
- Department of Surgery, Nanyang Institute of Technology in Health and Medicine, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - James Best
- Lee Kong China School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
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Le Manh H, Guio L, Merenciano M, Rovira Q, Barrón MG, González J. Natural and laboratory mutations in kuzbanian are associated with zinc stress phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42663. [PMID: 28218276 PMCID: PMC5316978 DOI: 10.1038/srep42663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms must cope with altered environmental conditions such as high concentrations of heavy metals. Stress response to heavy metals is mediated by the metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1), which is conserved from Drosophila to humans. MTF-1 binds to metal response elements (MREs) and changes the expression of target genes. kuzbanian (kuz), a metalloendopeptidase that activates the evolutionary conserved Notch signaling pathway, has been identified as an MTF-1 target gene. We have previously identified a putatively adaptive transposable element in the Drosophila melanogaster genome, named FBti0019170, inserted in a kuz intron. In this work, we investigated whether a laboratory mutant stock overexpressing kuz is associated with zinc stress phenotypes. We found that both embryos and adult flies overexpressing kuz are more tolerant to zinc compared with wild-type flies. On the other hand, we found that the effect of FBti0019170 on zinc stress tolerance depends on developmental stage and genetic background. Moreover, in the majority of the genetic backgrounds analyzed, FBti0019170 has a deleterious effect in unpolluted environments in pre-adult stages. These results highlight the complexity of natural mutations and suggest that besides laboratory mutations, natural mutations should be studied in order to accurately characterize gene function and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung Le Manh
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
- Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), 18 Hoang Quoc Viet st, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Lain Guio
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Miriam Merenciano
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Quirze Rovira
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Maite G. Barrón
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
| | - Josefa González
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49. 08003 Barcelona. Spain
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Vogt G. Stochastic developmental variation, an epigenetic source of phenotypic diversity with far-reaching biological consequences. J Biosci 2015; 40:159-204. [PMID: 25740150 DOI: 10.1007/s12038-015-9506-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews the production of different phenotypes from the same genotype in the same environment by stochastic cellular events, nonlinear mechanisms during patterning and morphogenesis, and probabilistic self-reinforcing circuitries in the adult life. These aspects of phenotypic variation are summarized under the term 'stochastic developmental variation' (SDV) in the following. In the past, SDV has been viewed primarily as a nuisance, impairing laboratory experiments, pharmaceutical testing, and true-to-type breeding. This article also emphasizes the positive biological effects of SDV and discusses implications for genotype-to-phenotype mapping, biological individuation, ecology, evolution, and applied biology. There is strong evidence from experiments with genetically identical organisms performed in narrowly standardized laboratory set-ups that SDV is a source of phenotypic variation in its own right aside from genetic variation and environmental variation. It is obviously mediated by molecular and higher-order epigenetic mechanisms. Comparison of SDV in animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, archaeans, and viruses suggests that it is a ubiquitous and phylogenetically old phenomenon. In animals, it is usually smallest for morphometric traits and highest for life history traits and behaviour. SDV is thought to contribute to phenotypic diversity in all populations but is particularly relevant for asexually reproducing and genetically impoverished populations, where it generates individuality despite genetic uniformity. In each generation, SDV produces a range of phenotypes around a well-adapted target phenotype, which is interpreted as a bet-hedging strategy to cope with the unpredictability of dynamic environments. At least some manifestations of SDV are heritable, adaptable, selectable, and evolvable, and therefore, SDV may be seen as a hitherto overlooked evolution factor. SDV is also relevant for husbandry, agriculture, and medicine because most pathogens are asexuals that exploit this third source of phenotypic variation to modify infectivity and resistance to antibiotics. Since SDV affects all types of organisms and almost all aspects of life, it urgently requires more intense research and a better integration into biological thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Günter Vogt
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany,
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Filteau M, Hamel V, Pouliot MC, Gagnon-Arsenault I, Dubé AK, Landry CR. Evolutionary rescue by compensatory mutations is constrained by genomic and environmental backgrounds. Mol Syst Biol 2015; 11:832. [PMID: 26459777 PMCID: PMC4631203 DOI: 10.15252/msb.20156444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Since deleterious mutations may be rescued by secondary mutations during evolution, compensatory evolution could identify genetic solutions leading to therapeutic targets. Here, we tested this hypothesis and examined whether these solutions would be universal or would need to be adapted to one's genetic and environmental makeups. We performed experimental evolutionary rescue in a yeast disease model for the Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome in two genetic backgrounds and carbon sources. We found that multiple aspects of the evolutionary rescue outcome depend on the genotype, the environment, or a combination thereof. Specifically, the compensatory mutation rate and type, the molecular rescue mechanism, the genetic target, and the associated fitness cost varied across contexts. The course of compensatory evolution is therefore highly contingent on the initial conditions in which the deleterious mutation occurs. In addition, these results reveal biologically favored therapeutic targets for the Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome, including the target of an unrelated clinically approved drug. Our results experimentally illustrate the importance of epistasis and environmental evolutionary constraints that shape the adaptive landscape and evolutionary rate of molecular networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Filteau
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
| | - Véronique Hamel
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
| | - Marie-Christine Pouliot
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
| | - Isabelle Gagnon-Arsenault
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
| | - Alexandre K Dubé
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
| | - Christian R Landry
- Département de Biologie, PROTEO and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada
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Orgogozo V, Morizot B, Martin A. The differential view of genotype-phenotype relationships. Front Genet 2015; 6:179. [PMID: 26042146 PMCID: PMC4437230 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2015.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
An integrative view of diversity and singularity in the living world requires a better understanding of the intricate link between genotypes and phenotypes. Here we re-emphasize the old standpoint that the genotype-phenotype (GP) relationship is best viewed as a connection between two differences, one at the genetic level and one at the phenotypic level. As of today, predominant thinking in biology research is that multiple genes interact with multiple environmental variables (such as abiotic factors, culture, or symbionts) to produce the phenotype. Often, the problem of linking genotypes and phenotypes is framed in terms of genotype and phenotype maps, and such graphical representations implicitly bring us away from the differential view of GP relationships. Here we show that the differential view of GP relationships is a useful explanatory framework in the context of pervasive pleiotropy, epistasis, and environmental effects. In such cases, it is relevant to view GP relationships as differences embedded into differences. Thinking in terms of differences clarifies the comparison between environmental and genetic effects on phenotypes and helps to further understand the connection between genotypes and phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Orgogozo
- CNRS, UMR 7592, Institut Jacques Monod, Université Paris DiderotParis, France
| | - Baptiste Morizot
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, CEPERC UMR 7304Aix en Provence, France
| | - Arnaud Martin
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, University of CaliforniaBerkeley, CA, USA
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Ullastres A, Petit N, González J. Exploring the Phenotypic Space and the Evolutionary History of a Natural Mutation in Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Biol Evol 2015; 32:1800-14. [PMID: 25862139 PMCID: PMC4476160 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge of modern Biology is elucidating the functional consequences of natural mutations. Although we have a good understanding of the effects of laboratory-induced mutations on the molecular- and organismal-level phenotypes, the study of natural mutations has lagged behind. In this work, we explore the phenotypic space and the evolutionary history of a previously identified adaptive transposable element insertion. We first combined several tests that capture different signatures of selection to show that there is evidence of positive selection in the regions flanking FBti0019386 insertion. We then explored several phenotypes related to known phenotypic effects of nearby genes, and having plausible connections to fitness variation in nature. We found that flies with FBti0019386 insertion had a shorter developmental time and were more sensitive to stress, which are likely to be the adaptive effect and the cost of selection of this mutation, respectively. Interestingly, these phenotypic effects are not consistent with a role of FBti0019386 in temperate adaptation as has been previously suggested. Indeed, a global analysis of the population frequency of FBti0019386 showed that climatic variables explain well the FBti0019386 frequency patterns only in Australia. Finally, although FBti0019386 insertion could be inducing the formation of heterochromatin by recruiting HP1a (Heterochromatin Protein 1a) protein, the insertion is associated with upregulation of sra in adult females. Overall, our integrative approach allowed us to shed light on the evolutionary history, the relevant fitness effects, and the likely molecular mechanisms of an adaptive mutation and highlights the complexity of natural genetic variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ullastres
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Natalia Petit
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josefa González
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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O’Malley MA, Soyer OS, Siegal ML. A Philosophical Perspective on Evolutionary Systems Biology. BIOLOGICAL THEORY 2015; 10:6-17. [PMID: 26085823 PMCID: PMC4465572 DOI: 10.1007/s13752-015-0202-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary systems biology (ESB) is an emerging hybrid approach that integrates methods, models, and data from evolutionary and systems biology. Drawing on themes that arose at a cross-disciplinary meeting on ESB in 2013, we discuss in detail some of the explanatory friction that arises in the interaction between evolutionary and systems biology. These tensions appear because of different modeling approaches, diverse explanatory aims and strategies, and divergent views about the scope of the evolutionary synthesis. We locate these discussions in the context of long-running philosophical deliberations on explanation, modeling, and theoretical synthesis. We show how many of the issues central to ESB's progress can be understood as general philosophical problems. The benefits of addressing these philosophical issues feed back into philosophy too, because ESB provides excellent examples of scientific practice for the development of philosophy of science and philosophy of biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Orkun S. Soyer
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Mark L. Siegal
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems, Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Siegal ML, Leu JY. On the Nature and Evolutionary Impact of Phenotypic Robustness Mechanisms. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2014; 45:496-517. [PMID: 26034410 PMCID: PMC4448758 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Biologists have long observed that physiological and developmental processes are insensitive, or robust, to many genetic and environmental perturbations. A complete understanding of the evolutionary causes and consequences of this robustness is lacking. Recent progress has been made in uncovering the regulatory mechanisms that underlie environmental robustness in particular. Less is known about robustness to the effects of mutations, and indeed the evolution of mutational robustness remains a controversial topic. The controversy has spread to related topics, in particular the evolutionary relevance of cryptic genetic variation. This review aims to synthesize current understanding of robustness mechanisms and to cut through the controversy by shedding light on what is and is not known about mutational robustness. Some studies have confused mutational robustness with non-additive interactions between mutations (epistasis). We conclude that a profitable way forward is to focus investigations (and rhetoric) less on mutational robustness and more on epistasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark L Siegal
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York 10003;
| | - Jun-Yi Leu
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan 11529;
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Abstract
Evolutionary systems biology (ESB) is a rapidly growing integrative approach that has the core aim of generating mechanistic and evolutionary understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships at multiple levels. ESB's more specific objectives include extending knowledge gained from model organisms to non-model organisms, predicting the effects of mutations, and defining the core network structures and dynamics that have evolved to cause particular intracellular and intercellular responses. By combining mathematical, molecular, and cellular approaches to evolution, ESB adds new insights and methods to the modern evolutionary synthesis, and offers ways in which to enhance its explanatory and predictive capacities. This combination of prediction and explanation marks ESB out as a research manifesto that goes further than its two contributing fields. Here, we summarize ESB via an analysis of characteristic research examples and exploratory questions, while also making a case for why these integrative efforts are worth pursuing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orkun S Soyer
- Warwick Centre for Synthetic Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
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